New Belgium Brewing Sues Oasis Brewing

New Belgium Brewing Company in Colorado and Oasis Brewing Company in Austin both have a beer named Slow Ride. New Belgium says they filed a trademark application before Oasis did. Oasis on the other hand, maintain that they started selling their beer in May, before New Belgium's application was made.

Both sides have dug in their heels, and until the matter is settled, New Belgium's Slow Ride Session IPA will be called New Belgium Session IPA in Texas.

Siege Week Set Ahead of Alamo Beer Company Grand Opening

San Antonio, TX –  Alamo Beer Company will be touring local establishments to commemorate the historic “Siege of the Alamo.”  The beer company will be visiting 11 locations beginning February 23 through March 5. The tour concludes on March 6 with the public grand opening of the beer company’s beer hall, beer garden and the start of regular brewery tours.

The Siege Week tour kicks off at Tucker’s Kozy Korner located at 1338 East Houston Street, on Monday, February 23 at 6:00 PM.  Other stops include Tycoon Flats, Bombay Bicycle Club, GS1221 plus others. A list of tour stops can be found at Alamobeer.com or by visiting the company’s social media sites.
(Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlamoBeerCo or Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlamoBeerCo)

The Siege Week tour will be a way for fans to interact with the brewery team and take in the locally brewed beer. In addition to brewing its Golden Ale, Alamo Beer Company will add a German Pale Ale, Amber Lager and Pilsner to their line-up at the grand opening.

“The story of the Alamo is timeless and evokes the spirit of Texas. Our beer carries this tradition,” stated Eugene Simor, President and Founder of Alamo Beer Company. “To bring attention to this story and share our beer with our city is important to us as we expand our presence,” he concluded.

Alamo Beer Company introduced ALAMO Golden Ale in October 2003. Since then, it has continued to grow locally and has quickly expanded to West Texas, South Texas, Houston & Austin. It is currently sold in HEB Grocery Stores, Whole Foods, Gabriel’s, Specs, and other retail outlets. ALAMO Golden Ale is also available in a number of bars and restaurants within those markets.

Fort Bend Brewing Closes

I thought I posted this last week, but I didn't.

Ty and Sharon Coburn announced the closure of two year old Fort Bend Brewing Company on the brewery's Facebook page.

Sad to see a craft brewery shut down.

Please Let it be Gillespie County! Please Let it be Gillespie County!

Freetail Brewing Company recently announced they would expand to surrounding counties. (YES!) Comal, Guadalupe and Gonzales counties, in fact. (Damn.)

Well maybe someday...

Small BREW vs BEER Acts Comparison Infographic

Contact your National Quackerwodger and tell it that you support the Small BREW Act.

Strange Land Brewery Focuses on Less Common Beer Styles

Adam Blumenshein and Tim Klatt founders of Strange Land Brewery won't be brewing an IPA anytime soon. The duo prefers to making less common beers, like altbier, braggot, and a .75% ABV probiotic beer called Tibicos (intended to be mixed with liquors). The brewery opened in West Lake in the last part of 2014.

Recently, they purchased Texas Sake Company, and will soon be making sake.

Currently, Strange Land beers are only available on draught.

AB InBev Offers Kirin Refunds

If you purchased Kirin Beer between October 25, 2009 and December 17, 2014 thinking you were buying imported beer, you could be eligible for a refund of up to $50 with a receipt or $12 without a receipt. Sign up here.

I'm sure that I have purchased some in the last five years, but I don't save receipts. It sounds like a lot of work for $12.

Five "Imported" Beers Brewed in the US

Time.com recently ran a story about the five imported beers that aren't imported. I was only surprised by two of the entrants: Kirin and Newcastle Brown Ale.

Thanks to a father working in the beer business I knew that Fosters was brewed in Fort Worth, and that Beck's, Killian's and Red Stripe were brewed here.

Just a reminder: know where your beer comes from.

What Beer Country Are You "From"?

Put in the amount you consume in a week into this calculator, and it will tell you how your drinking compares to other countries.

I got Belarus.

I drink a lot.

Nobel Rey Brewing Building in Dallas' Design District

Dallas' Design District is a neighborhood west of I-35E, running from 366 up to Sylvan Road, and extending to the Trinity River Greenbelt Park. Already home to Peticolas Brewing, Community Brewing, and the planned Texas Ale Project, Nobel Rey Brewing will make the neighborhood a hot spot of Dallas Brewing.

Live Oak, Peticolas and Revolver Brewing to Sue the State

Wendy, over at Bitch Beer, just reported that Live Oak Brewing Company in Austin, Revolver Brewing in Granbury, and Peticolas Brewing Company in Dallas will file a property rights lawsuit against the State of Texas.

At issue is the infamous 2013 law that made it illegal in Texas for breweries to sell their distribution rights. Since distributors could theoretically turn around and sell those rights to another distributor, they breweries believe that the state violated its constitution which protects business property rights when the law was passed.

There is supposed to be a press conference at 10 am today in Dallas and Houston to announce the details of the lawsuit.

This is going to be interesting.

Zero One Ale House in San Angelo Begins Work on Brew House

Zero Ale House, 20 Beauregard Street in San Angelo, is installing a brewery and will begin selling their own beer in mid-January.

Zero One is known for it's extensive beer list. Satan visited there a few weeks ago and praised the food highly, with multiple photos texted to me.  The evil bastard.

Eric Zobel, owner of Zero Ale House (which opened in 2012), has been home brewing since 2008, and always with an eye on brewing professionally some day.

West Texas brewing is booming. Zero One will be the fourth brewery in the area.

Want Free Beer For Life?

Carey Hodson is hoping to launch Intrinsic Brewing in Garland. He has launched a CrowdBrewed page to raise $30,000. He is about halfway there.

If you donate $2000, you can get free beer for life: 3 pints a day four days a week, and a growler with 25 refills. So far, one person has donated at that level.

Let me do the math: 3 pints a day at $5 each would be $15. That's $60 a week. After a year that would total $3120. Add in 25 growler refills at, say, $12 a pop would cost you $300 in a year. So you would get $3420 worth of beer every year.

Tempting...

Alamo Brewing Company Ribbon Cutting - December 5

On December 5, after a ribbon cutting at Alamo Brewing Company, production of the beer will begin at the 18,000 square foot brewery.  The plan is to be producing 14,000 barrels in 8 years. The brewery will open to the public in March, complete with a beer garden and a beer hall.

Lucky me, I have been invited to the event. Unlucky me, I have to work that day.

Alamo beer has been contract brewed in Blanco at Real Ale Brewing Company.

Why Do Fruit Flies Love Beer?

Fruit flies love beer!

Actually, they love yeast aromas. That's why I sometimes find drowned fruit flies in my fermenter airlocks.

The fruit flies are attracted to the almost fruity aroma of yeast. Bioengineer Kevin Verstrepen published a paper in Cell Reports. In it, he demonstrated that if he turned off the yeast gene that produces the fruit smell, more fruit flies are attracted to the fruitier smelling yeast. They eat the yeast, and the yeast sticks to their legs. When the flies leave, they spread the yeast to other environments. After all, yeast don't have legs.

Coming Soon: City Acre Brewing in Houston

Well, soon  might be a relative term. City Acre Brewing won't be open until 2015. It will be at 3421 Folger Street, north of downtown off of U.S. Highway 59. They will serve their own beer, plus some other Texas craft beers, and serve food made from their garden.

Matt Schlabach and his wife Meredith Borders are the owners of City Acre Brewing. Mat has been brewing for over ten years, about as long as they've been dreaming of opening a brew pub.

-source

Hops Make You Smart! That's Why I'm a Supergenius!

Oregon State University scientists have published a study that says the hop flavonoids xanthohumol might increase the cognitive functions of young mammals.

According to Modern Farmer, flavonoids are present in a lot of plants. And plants with a lot of flavonoids tend to be darker, like blueberries. Flavonoids in celery and artichokes might fight pancreatic cancer. Evidence suggests that flavonoids could also have anti-inflammatory properties and could help reduce blood pressure.

Xanthohumol fight a process called palmitoylation, which impairs memory functions in mammals.

Xanthohumol, this research indicates, might be able to reduce the way palmitoylation breaks down the connections between synapses in the brain, hence increasing memory capabilities and also increasing cognitive flexibility (the ability to think about multiple things at once).

 Of course, it would require 2000 liters of beer a day for there to be any effect in humans. DON'T feed your kids that much beer. That would be a bad thing.

Freetail Brewing Company's Production Brewery

Freetail Brewing Company's production brewery will be opening in a few weeks, and the San Antonio Current has teased us with information about the new brewery.

Located on South Presa, the brewery will produce three beers in cans (Bat Outta Helles, a German-style lager; Third Coast IPA; and a seasonal beer) and two in 22 ounce bottles (Witicus double witbier and Freetail Ale, which is a little stronger and hoppier than the version at the pub). There will be a tasting room, and it will be open Thursday and Friday, 4-9 p.m. and Saturday, 2-9 p.m.

FDA Backs Down on Spent Grain Rule Change

Most breweries sell their spent grain to farmers for feed and compost. Earlier this year, the FDA announced that the spent grains should be packaged to make it safe for the animals to eat, and therefor safe for humans to eat the animals.

There was a tumultuous uproar from brewers--From giant ABInbev all the way down to tiny Eola, Texas, home of Eola School and Bright Brewing.  It was an unprecedented display of industry cooperation.

The FDA has revised the rules to exclude spent grain. Since the breweries are already compliant with human food standards, the spent grain well be considered compliant with the animal food standards. This change means that breweries of any size do not have to spend thousands of dollars complying with the rules.

Remember the Hop Crisis? Guess What...

There will be a Malt Crisis next year!

Due to a wet year, Canada has had the smallest crop since the 1960s.  The US, as well as Europe and Australia are expecting lower yields this year, too.

This means that craft beer prices are probably going to go up.

Oh, joy!